


Ahead Through This Harsh Wilderness

by skieswideopen



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 15:25:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skieswideopen/pseuds/skieswideopen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trapped in purgatory, Katrina watches and waits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ahead Through This Harsh Wilderness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ferggirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferggirl/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, ferggirl!
> 
> Thank you to the very helpful kateandbarrel for beta reading! All remaining mistakes are my own.

Time had no meaning between worlds. Seconds stretched into hours, years passed on the length of a single breath. Sometimes Katrina felt as if the whole span of history were laid out before her, past and future both, if only she could just see it.

Space existed, but not as it had before. Distance and geography held no sway here. Her childhood home, the house she had shared with her husband, the hospitals and camps where she had worked...all lay within steps of each other one day, and miles apart the next. Sometimes she could control her surroundings, shaping the echoes to more closely resemble her memories. Sometimes something else shaped them into something dark and twisted, a grotesque parody of the life she'd once had. Occasionally she had no awareness of her surroundings at all, soul drifting in some non-space.

Most of the time she was alone. Occasionally _he_ came after her, tracking her though shadowed woods as she ran, breathless and panting, chased by his mocking laughter.

Gradually Katrina learned to exert more control. To read the omens that predicted Moloch's visits and to hide from him so as to deny him the pleasure of her flight. To travel where she wished to travel and block out the rest. She learned the rules, learned how this place worked. She sought omens, looking for clues as to how fate would unfold. She studied the demons who sometimes trod her woods, looking for their weaknesses. And she waited. Waited for Moloch to make his move. Waited for Ichabod to wake. Waited for something to change.

One day--it might have been years after her imprisonment, or months, or centuries; she had no way of knowing for sure--she felt the first twinge of a connection to the world she'd left behind. A flickering awareness of life, a bright string that tugged at her soul, beckoning her back.

"Ichabod," she breathed, and flew to it.

She stepped into the world and found herself in a clean, bright room. In one corner sat a young woman, rocking a screaming newborn. Katrina stepped forward to explain her presence, and then realized that the woman hadn't reacted to her at all. Well, of course, and why should she? Katrina was no longer part of this world. 

Turning her back on mother and child, she looked eagerly for Ichabod--had he been brought here somehow when he woke?--but he was nowhere in sight. Perhaps in another room? She went to the door--moving seemed more an act of will than body here--intending to search further afield, and tried to step through. Her attempt failed, blocked by an unseen force. She tried again, will focused keen as a blade, and again failed. Puzzled, Katrina reached out a hand, trying to reach past the threshold. She felt nothing, but her hand bounced back, as if it had struck taut cloth. 

Behind her, the mother began to sing to the restless infant, and Katrina froze. She _knew_ that song. As if in a dream, she turned back slowly. The mother sang on, slow and steady, and Katrina's eyes filled with tears as she listened to the song Grace had taught her so long ago.

The infant was quiet now, eyelids drifting gently closed. It seemed to Katrina almost as if the babe glowed beneath the harsh, artificial light of the room. In her mind's eye she saw another infant, equally beloved, who had once listened to the same song. She reached out a longing hand, and abruptly found herself back in the woods, aching with disappointment and loss. Drawing in a deep breath, she centered herself and looked around, seeking her bearings.

"Of course," she said when she spotted the church. The summons made sense now; it hadn't been an escape at all--it had been purgatory's way of forcing her to confront her choices.

She forced herself up the steps and pushed open the heavy door. The interior of the little church was exactly as she remembered, bright and peaceful. The forces of purgatory had made no changes here at all, perhaps because nothing could be more painful than reality.

Katrina circled the room slowly, awash in memories. Here Grace had laughed with her as she struggled to sew a toy for Jeremy. Here she had baptized her child, giving him to God's care. And here she had bade that child farewell.

Eventually, she lit a candle, and then she knelt and prayed for a child long lost, and a child newly born, and for those who cared for each of them.

The second stirring came timeless time later, and once again Katrina followed, though with less abandon. The summons this time brought her to woods almost identical to those in which she now dwelt; only the change in light and chirp of birdsong told her that she was no longer in purgatory. She looked around, uncertain of what lesson this journey was meant to convey, and then her eyes fell on the two girls crouched in front of her, clutching each other in fear. Katrina stepped forward, seeking to comfort them, and then stopped as she felt a familiar presence. _Moloch_.

The demon stood a few feet away from the girls, pale skin gleaming beneath the dull light. At the rustle of her dress, Moloch raised his head, looking directly at Katrina.

"There is nothing you can do here, witch," he said, and gestured sharply. The world spun around her, but Katrina had learned much during her time in purgatory. She drew on her own power, matching will for will, and the world stabilized again.

The two girls were crying softly, both of them staring into the space where Moloch stood, and Katrina realized suddenly that they could _see_ him. 

The memory of an infant appeared in her mind’s eye, and as surely as if she'd been scrying in a mirror, she knew that the elder of the two girls was the same infant now grown. She also knew that whatever force or grace had brought her here, it was not an attempt by purgatory to punish her.

Katrina straightened up and looked directly at Moloch. "It is you who can do nothing here, demon," she said. "These children are under the protection of a power greater than you." She closed the gap between herself and the girls in an instant and knelt down, wrapping her arms around them, hoping they would feel her presence even if they couldn't see her. She murmured a prayer, asking whatever force had brought her here to watch over them.

Moloch's face twisted in rage. "You will pay for your interference," he hissed, and gestured again. The woods blurred faster than Katrina could react, and then the dirt and rocks beneath her was replaced by smooth, polished wood. When her vision cleared, she was looking up at the altar of Trinity Church. She stood up, straightening her skirts, and hoped that the girls were safe, and away from Moloch.

A harsh croaking sounded behind her. Katrina spun. On the back of the first pew perched a sleek, black raven.

"Where did you come from, friend?" she asked. The bird croaked again and hopped from the pew to her shoulder, feathers brushing her face. At its touch, a series of visions raced through Katrina's mind. As she watched, buildings grew and were knocked down again. Wars were fought, turning fields red. Great carriages moved through the streets with no horses to lead them, while others soared through the skies like birds. The visions moved faster and faster until they blurred together, and then they froze on one moment: the two girls, cold and dirty, but _safe _, sitting under artificial light surrounded by adults, with no sign of Moloch.__

__Katrina breathed out in relief. "How did you get here?" she asked the raven. Moloch appeared in her mind's eye, shrieking in rage as he sent her away, and she smiled in realization. "He made a mistake," she said. "When he sent me back, he forgot to seal the way."_ _

__The raven croaked in agreement and hopped off her shoulder. All visions of the world beyond disappeared, but the sense of connection remained. Reaching out further, she could feel the new opening, the tiny gap that gave her access to the world. Difficult to reach, yes, but it was something. A place to start. And perhaps an opportunity to continue the battle against the darkness._ _

__The raven continued to return, traveling back and forth between purgatory and the world. Through him, Katrina began building connections to other birds. Other familiars. A crow. An owl. A robin. When they flew, they sent back visions of the world, and gradually she began to make sense of what the raven had shown her. Occasionally she caught sight of members of her coven, and knew they guarded Sleepy Hollow still. With the birds at her side, Katrina watched and plotted and learned._ _

__***_ _

__Katrina dreamed of dirt and ice, dark and suffocating above her. Reaching up, she fought free, gasping, and stumbled out of her grave._ _

__And then she woke once more in the bed she had claimed for the night, still shivering from the grave. As she looked up into the darkness, a sudden, startling clarity fell over her. _Ichabod_. And with him, war._ _

__She was not surprised when the raven appeared before dawn to tell her that the Horseman rode again. Where one went, the other must follow. She called on the rest of her flock, sending one to seek out Ichabod and asking the others to supply her with as much information as they could._ _

__Once the birds had taken flight, Katrina began her preparations, calling on every bit of skill she'd acquired during her training, and every morsel of knowledge she'd gleaned during her time in purgatory. At last, as ready as she could be, she sent her mind and soul outward to the gap that Moloch had left open, standing on the edge, calling her husband to her...and was rebuffed. And then rebuffed again. Something blocked her, choking the path that should have allowed her to reach Ichabod. She tried to fight through it, battling the force that held her back, and at last collapsed, exhausted. She lay still for a moment, despair threatening to overwhelm her, only to be interrupted by the flutter of invisible wings above her. Katrina looked up, startled, and then leapt to her feet as hoofbeats sounded on the forest path._ _

__Katrina ran. Ran as she hadn't run in centuries, and behind her the Horseman followed hot on her heels. She scrambled through brush and trail, and always he followed behind her. Only her many years of experience, of learning the meaning of this place, let her run until sunrise, when he was forced to take shelter and she was free._ _

__She spent the next hours reviewing her efforts, trying to determine where she had gone wrong, but could find nothing wrong. She had bound herself to Ichabod when she cast the spell that saved him. More than that, she was fated to have a connection to him, witch to witness. It should have worked._ _

__She was interrupted in her thoughts by the raven, who flew in fast, croaking a warning. Feathers brushed her face and visions of Ichabod, helpless and restrained, passed before Katrina's eyes. _Danger!_ screamed the raven in her mind. In blind desperation, Katrina reached out again, this time following the path wherever it would take her._ _

__And then she stood on the wrong side of a mirror, staring into the face of one of the girls from the woods. A girl who before that had been an infant listening to the same songs that Grace had once sung. The girl was grown now, long hair pulled back, dressed in a uniform that Katrina didn't recognize._ _

___Please,_ prayed Katrina. She reached out and pulled the woman through the slender gap between worlds, shaking with effort as she did. The woman gave a quick look around the woods, then turned back to Katrina, expression wary. Her hand fell to the gun on her hip._ _

__"Who are you?" she demanded. "Where am I?"_ _

__Katrina made her tone as calm as possible. "I am Katrina Crane. You are safe here."_ _

__"Here? Where's here?" She looked around again. "How did I get here?'_ _

__"We are between worlds," Katrina said. "In purgatory, where I have been trapped these many ears, Please, I need your help. My husband--"_ _

__The woman's eyes widened. "Wait. Katrina Crane...you're Crane's wife?"_ _

__"I am the wife of Ichabod Crane," Katrina said. "He fell on the field of battle. Unable to face losing him, I cast a spell--"_ _

__"The field of battle," the woman repeated. "What war exactly are we talking about here?"_ _

__"The war of independence against the Crown," Katrina said. She fought back her impatience. She needed this woman's help, and she would not get it without first offering some explanation. "He fought against the Death himself and claimed his head, but not before the Horseman dealt him a mortal blow. Thus, their bloodlines mingled. We concealed the Horseman's body beneath water, and buried Ichabod to protect him."_ _

__The woman held up a hand, gun forgotten. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're saying he was telling the truth? He really is from the eighteenth century? He really did fall asleep for over two hundred years?"_ _

__"You have seen him?" Katrina asked eagerly. "You know where he is? Then, please, you must help him. He is being held--"_ _

__"He's fine," interrupted the woman. "I mean, a mental institution probably isn't the most pleasant place around, but he's safe."_ _

__"I do not understand." Katrina stepped toward the woman. "Who are you?"_ _

__"Lieutenant Abbie Mills," said the woman. "Sleepy Hollow Sheriff's Department. We found your husband yesterday. The same day my boss, the Sheriff, was murdered."_ _

__Her tone suggested a story and Katrina began to ask more, then stopped as she felt the tug of the world, battling her will, seeking to reclaim the witness. She returned her attention to her original task. "Please. He is in grave danger. I beg of you, protect him."_ _

__Lieutenant Mills looked up. "Protect him from what?"_ _

__"From those who would do him harm," Katrina said. "He is a witness, and must be guarded until he can complete his task."_ _

__"Witnesses to what?"_ _

__"The end," Katrina said. "The Horseman, he who is Death, rides again. He seeks his head, which is buried in the grave that bears my name. If he finds it, the others will join him and with them comes the end. Ichabod is the only one who can stop them. Please, help him."_ _

__"I don't--" Lieutenant Mills stopped, studying Katrina closely. "Wait. I _know_ you. Where do I know you from?"_ _

__"Please," Katrina pleaded again. The Lieutenant began to grow distant, the space between them widening though neither of them had moved. "Get Ichabod. Tell him to seek Washington's Bible. And do not let the Horseman reclaim his head! Or the end will come." She was nearly gone now. "Please!" Katrina called after her, and collapsed as Lieutenant Mills vanished._ _

__Katrina waited anxiously through the night for the birds to return, wondering if her message had been enough. If Lieutenant Mills had understood. If she would act._ _

__One by one the flock arrived, carrying news like twigs to the nest. Washington's Bible found. Ichabod safe. The Horseman thwarted. And--from the owl--a vision of Ichabod, sitting with Lieutenant Mills, declaring to her that she was the second witness. In a rush, Katrina understood. Fate had tied her not to one witness, but to two. Protector and guide to both. They were bound together, the three of them, tied by destiny, and by their assigned tasks._ _

__And perhaps, if she waited, all three of them would gather in one place._ _


End file.
